Ben Hong
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Posts posted by Ben Hong
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I don't think that hygiene had anything to do with the adopting the use of eating utensils, be they chopsticks or knives and forks. It was something more practical, like hot foods from a communal pot or a roasting beast on a spit. The human animal has a unique way of creating rituals, rules, customs and taboos about new "inventions". Over time they may even stylize certain aspects of this new method or implement. Witness the evolution of the early basic pictograms of the Shang Dynasty in China to the ultra refined and beautiful calligraphy of today. Or how the act of slapping a puck with a hockey stick evolved into a game that is defined and regulated by a rule book that is 2 inches thick. The evolution of customs and rituals is part of what defines a community/society.
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I would dearly love to have Grace as a relative, but her clan name is Young.
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Oh, show the boy a pic. Now tell me your respective astrological signs.
Bolts of silk, suckling pigs, whatever. But a bit of tea money works well too. -
I think that they are targetting the frugally challenged, people who would be in the throes of the last twitches of consumptive expiration
. Yes, they are meant to be used as gifts, for no pragmatic Chinese person would dare use them for their ostensible purpose 
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Uh, er, hmm...Gastro888...you will be posting pictures of you in the cheongsam, no?
Oh, a few pictures of the food would be nice...too. -
Tepee, Is it a dialect change for those little red packages of cash. We call them "hung pao" hung=red, pao=package. This is the first time I've heard the term "angpow".
I gotta get out more.
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I am impressed.
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Gastro888, yep, you certainly are a Toysan Mui. Gawd love ya, you certainly have the same appreciation for the same foods
I think Toysan, Toisan are interchangable, they sound the same.If an old Geezer can offer a bit of advice, please stick close to your Mother and try to learn to make some of the more traditional festive dishes while she's still interested in doing so. You sound like someone who would like to and should be learning those traditions. If you have followed Dejah's posts on several forums of the eGullet, you will see that she is trying to learn all she can from her Mother, who is 95. (Dejah is a grandmother, but she is much, much, much younger than I am
)Dejah: Indirectly, chop suey, s&s spareribs and chow mein were the lifeline for a great many villages in impoverished Toisan. These dishes not only fed the lo fan clientele, but also families in China. Very important aspect to mention in your interview (that is if the reporter can understand the concept) Chinese hand laundrys were just as important.
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Hzrt. Unfortunately the selling of labourers still happens, only they call it people smuggling these days.
Yuki, I am proud that you feel proud of what all our predecessors achieved in the face of overwhelming odds. I have not met many newer immigrants or young people who "gave a damn". Thanks for reaffirming to an old codger, that there are gems like you around.
Now to keep this thread within the realm of food, can anyone name a favourite "village" dish that you or your parents eat? Or a dish cobbled up in the face of a paucity of "Chinese" type ingredients here in Gam San?
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Proud of who we are and what we eat. A lot of younger participants of this forum may not realize it, but North American "Chinese" food served to the "lo fan" was largely created by us Toysanese...chop suey, sweet and sour ribs, garlic spare ribs, chicken balls, etc. But more than that, the style of "real" (I don't mean the newfangled fusion, spicey Szechuan, etc.) Chinese food served to the "lo wah kieu" during the abominable Exclusion days still can be called the mainstay of much of the Chinese restaurant industry in North America.
I have to assume that I am the oldest Toysanese here, at least one who can still remember some of the aspects of village life in old pre-revolution China and as such, I would like to see this thread roll and I would be more than pleased to answer some of the questions (about whatever)you may have. And if I can't answer specifics about food, we can call on Dejah who is an accomplished chef and her Mother, her brain a precious repository of village recipes and culture. (Btw, Dejah is much, much, much younger than I)
If your parents or grandparents came to "Gam Shan" before the mid 60s, chances are they are/were Toysanese, or just simply ask them.
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Chefdazi. I posted that with just a bit of tongue in cheek. Sesame was and is stiil, almost a staple in many countries of the ancient world, as it was grown throughout the known world at the time. Almost every culture had something similar, but even though I said that the Chinese invented it, sesame candies could have been "invented" by any one of 20 ancient countries. All such claims would be correct, in a sense.
Now, to piss off my Italian friends here, I will state unequivocably and irrefutably, that the Chinese invented pasta.
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Forgive me in advance Dejah, I mean no disrespect. But, I thought that "bing tong" was the very hard pebble sized chunks of clear translucent sugar (looks like chunks of dirty ice). The brown bars shown in the making of the sesame tay were called brown sugar (wong tong) by my people. In fact, "bing" means ice.
BTW, I think Po Po is photographically "right at home", where all popo's belong - putting the ingredient called love in the treats. Say hello for me.
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Jeez, am I witnessing the blooming of a romance here? Herb, you do me proud with your exhibition of Chinese practicality and pragmatism.
Socks indeed!!Gastro888, you're up.
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After following this thread, I definitely have to get to Brandon for CNY.
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It can easily be done, if you have at least four bamboo steamer trays which are large enough in diameter to hold a 9"pie plate. Steam two plates at a time. If you pour the flour slurry thin enough, they cook within 4-5 minutes at high steam, just enough time to take up the cheung foon from and repour the first two plates.....remember to well oil the plates each time and keep the steamer just rocking hot. You get the side benefit of having your house turning into a steam bath, unless you have a commercial range hood.
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I would never blanch leafy greens, only "hard" veggies like carrots, green and wax beans, zucchini, celery, peppers, etc.
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Blanching is also indispensible in a commercial Chinese kitchen. It's all about control, appearance and speed of production. I don't think that a quick dip in boiling water would be significantly deleterious to the nutritional components of the veggie. Unless, of course, you boil the crap out of it, a l'Anglaise
.The Chinese also use an oil blanch for meats and seafoods. That process acts as a quick seal.
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A similar arrangement is found in northern China. The cookstove is usually a massive brick or masonry fixture that is used as the main source of heat for the home. The family would sleep on the warm surface during the night. I think that the Chinese (Mandarin) word for it is "k'ang".
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I guess that I have transgressed many a time when I travelled to Korea. Being of Chinese heritage and imbued for 60+ years with the customs and manners of said culture, I found it difficult "in extremis" to eat rice without holding a bowl in my hand, especially if a bowl is provided. What do you do? Constantly switch from chopsticks to spoon etc? Not being mannerly to pick up a rice bowl in one's hand would imply that one cannot dine without a table or suitable flat surface to rest your bowl, which would preclude picnics on a blanket in a park, a sylvan glen, etc. Also what would one do with the idle left hand if you're right handed and vice versa. Ahhh, those inscrutable Orientals.
I believe that the use of metal bowls would not hold heat better than porcelain or china bowls. Metal is a better heat transfer medium.
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I wonder if Canjet or Air Canada has a seat sale on these days. I wanna visit with that beauty er, ah, your family.
Yum. -
Here's a slight veerage off the topic. I know a few American Vietnam war vets who told me that in certain actions where quiet is the operative word, everyone threw their metal cutlery out of their packs and learned how to use wooden chopsticks instead. Much more convenient and... quiet.
I can't stand Korean style metal chopsticks, they are either too hot or cold and they hurt when they hit my teeth and they just don't feel right. A personal pair of chopsticks is great when sampling or eating streetfoods in some areas of the world where hygiene is questionable.
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Hoo Boy, Herby, I know this beautiful sweet Toysan mui who goes by the handle of "gastro888" and she posts on.......
And she cooks!!! Seriously gastro, shouldn't you have a dish of "jai" (Buddhist vegetarian dish) also?
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Gastro: you have enough variety on your menu that everybody can find something to like. If I were to plan something of that magnitude, what a few diners like or dislike would be very, very, low on my list of priorities. Like not on it at all.
Stick with the traditional. It is your event and CNY is the MOST traditional of all our festivals. If people are insensitive and ignorant enough to expect and eat things they only like, give them the addresses of a few take out places. Fie on them.
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I have only bamboo chopsticks of various lengths in my house. Lacquer, plastic, ivory are too smooth and I have trouble picking up slippery bits of food with them, sometimes.
Food Histories of the Toysan People
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
April, without exception that's what we all do. Most Chinese cooks cook by taste and not by recipe. I would not and could not give out "accurate" recipes. To be successful in producing good meals, it is imperative that one knows the 5-6 cooking techniques, poaching, steaming, chowing, etc., know the flavours and texture of ingredients, and develop the ability to (almost) subconciously meld flavours. One can almost duplicate any dish if you have a basic grasp of these essentials.